LOS ANGELES (AFP) — One man was killed by wildfires burning north of Los Angeles on Monday as an army of firefighters battled to bring raging wind-fuelled flames under control.
Los Angeles County coroner's official Ed Winter said the first fatality of the wildfires appeared to be a homeless man living in a wood and cardboard shelter beneath a freeway interchange.
More than 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the flames, which have forced the evacuation of some 1,200 people and led to the closure of several roads and schools.
Fire officials said an out-of-control blaze in the Angeles National Forest had consumed around 3,700 acres (1,500 hectares) of brush by 10:30 am (1730 GMT) Monday, fanned by powerful gusts known locally as the Santa Ana winds.
The winds swept the blaze across fire lines early Monday, forcing firefighters to revise containment estimates from 20 percent to five percent.
"As expected, the Santa Ana winds came up and blew the fire out of our containment lines," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman told reporters at a news briefing.
Local television reports showed what appeared to be trucks and mobile homes alight, sending thick black smoke belching into the atmosphere. The Los Angeles Times reported that 37 mobile homes had been gutted by the flames.
The fire broke out early Sunday but its cause is unknown, fire department officials said.
Firefighters said the shifting winds were a cause for concern as a separate fire front bore down on the northern Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch.
The National Weather Service has warned that wind gusts of between 50-70 mph were expected in mountains and canyons.
California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.
The latest fire comes roughly one year after devastating wildfires that were among the worst in California history left eight people dead, destroyed 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused one billion dollars in damage.
In June and July this year, a series of about 2,000 fires raged across the state, scorching some 900,000 acres (3,500 square kilometers) of land, according to officials.
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